Blackhawks, Blue Jackets look to stave off elimination

Sullivan admitted Wednesday the Blue Jackets seemed to dial back their physical play a bit in Game 4. Still, he really wanted them to be able to hear it again.

"We're in a tough spot and a place we don't want to be in, but we got a game", defenseman Brent Seabrook said.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each scored two goals and the San Jose Sharks rebounded from back-to-back shutouts in emphatic fashion, beating the Edmonton Oilers to tie their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

If the Blue Jackets can drag out the series, it also gives those Penguins who are already dealing with a lump or two less time to recover.

In the last two games especially, the Canadiens have done a good job of preventing the Rangers from using the up-tempo style they're best at, clamping down defensively and forcing NY to dump and chase.

While Alexander Radulov has two goals and four assists in the series, captain Max Pacioretty, who had 35 goals and 67 points in the regular season, has only one assist in the first four games for the Canadiens.

In the case of Game 4, though, those two aspects went hand-in-hand.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are hoping a better start will help them finish off Columbus.

Down 0-3 and facing elimination in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series, the Blue Jackets came out hard on their home ice in Columbus, Ohio. "Everybody contributed. I'm just happy they found a way to win a game". Rick Nash scored the game-winning goal less than five minutes into the second period.

"His play speaks for itself", coach Todd McLellan said. "It's about the mindset". It's a mindset. It's not a wait-and-see approach.

The Predators have been led so far this series by their top line of Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg.

Patric Hornqvist, Ron Hainsey and Tom Kuhnhackl also scored for Pittsburgh, and Marc-Andre Fleury - pressed into service because of an injury to Matt Murray at the start of the series - had 29 saves. The Blackhawks as a team have scored just twice all series.

They certainly said all the right things. He went on a couple long post-season runs with Edmonton and Toronto, but never won the Stanley Cup.

That mentality doesn't take the sting off Game 4 for the Penguins' defense, but in some regards it's a resignation that the team's offensive focus will sometimes result in more goals given up than they'd like. "I think last night - and our numbers show it - we gave up nearly double the amount of chances off the rush, and a lot of that has to do with the decisions that we make with the puck or our lack of attention to details as far as getting on the right side of people in the 50-50 battles or in those critical areas of the rink". He's going to create some stuff out there with the puck.

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